Judge tells Laois driver he is lucky he wasn’t killed
The case was heard at Portlaoise District Court
A MAN who came before Judge Deirdre Gearty at Portlaoise District Court last week was told he “was very lucky that he wasn’t killed”, when he crashed a car that he had been driving.
The judge made her comment when Alan Nealis from The Lodge, O’Connell Square, Mountmellick pleaded guilty to driving while uninsured, drink-driving and with the unauthorised taking of a vehicle on 1 January at O’Connell Square, Mountmellick.
The court heard that at 5am on the day in question, gardaí were called to a single-vehicle accident at Nyra, Rosenallis, Mountmellick. There they came upon Mr Nealis, who told them that he had lost control of the car.
He was taken to Tullamore hospital and a blood sample showed that he had been over the drink-driving limit at the time of the accident.
Judge Gearty was also told that the defendant’s ex-girlfriend had reported to gardaí that at that time, her car had been stolen from outside her flat.
Defence solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said that her 33-year-old client had addiction issues at the time of the offence and “was under pressure. He made a foolish decision to drive that morning”.
She said that Mr Nealis, who works as a chef, is hoping to begin a residential treatment programme in the near future to deal with his issues.
Wishing him well in his recovery from his addiction issues, Judge Gearty said: “He was very lucky that he wasn’t killed that night.” She went on to convict Mr Nealis of driving while uninsured, fined him €350 and disqualified him from driving for four years. For drink-driving, he was fined €350 and banned from driving for two years. The unauthorised taking of a vehicle was taken into account.
